Arapahoe Basin
May 19 Shakin' at the Basin - May Concert Series - Rail Jam
May 26 Shakin' at the Basin - That Eighties Day & Rail Jam
May 27 6th Annual Festival of the Brew Pubs/ Memorial Weekend Beach Party
May 28 Shakin' at the Basin - May Concert Series
Jun 3 Closing Day
www.arapahoebasin.com/

***
Killington
Killington Film Festival The Inaugural Killington Film Festival debuts August 24-26 and submissions are now being accepted. Celebrated New England Filmmakers will be featured as well as two short film contests. The contests are open to short films under 28 minutes long made by New England filmmakers. The two competitions open for submissions are: • The New England Filmmaker Competition: narrative and documentary shorts; any genre, theme, subject, etc. • Extreme sport shorts: water, air, land, sport docs, etc. www.killington.com


***
GIRDWOOD, AK – May 9, 2007 The Hotel Alyeska is launching a comprehensive three phase multi million dollar renovation that will start the month of May enhancing areas of the hotel and mountain.
The Hotel Alyeska’s 304 guest rooms will receive a comprehensive makeover. Phase I consist of a $3.5 million guest room upgrade including plush new carpets, new Serta’s Presidential Pillow Top Mattress bed packages, light fixtures, desk chairs, Judith Jackson spa amenities, designer shower curtains, and new artwork from Edward Curtis depicting Native Alaska images. Phase I & II are scheduled to be completed by the beginning of the 2007-2008 ski and snowboard season. Phase II will include new carpet and furniture in all public areas in addition to banquet and meeting space. A new retail shop, café, and ski arcade will be added on the second floor of the Hotel Alyeska. The award winning Seven Glaciers Restaurant will also receive a makeover, enhancing its spectacular setting.
This summer Alyeska Resort will embark on an estimated $4.5 million mountain upgrade to include snowmaking extension from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the tram. New snowmaking will allow Alyeska Resort to open the entire mountain by Thanksgiving. In addition the Terrain Park will move from Chair 7 to Tanaka providing more beginner runs on Chair 3 & 7. Magic Carpet installations will being this summer that will greatly enhance the beginner skier/snowboarder’s experience by eliminating the tow type lift. The upper mountain will be further improved with extensive summer trail reconstruction, including trail improvements and widening of Weir, Von Imhof, Denali and the Waterfall. Finally, a new ticketing system will be brought on line this winter which will greatly improve the speed and efficiency that is required to access our services and facilities.
Alyeska Resort, located 40 miles south of Anchorage, is Alaska's premier year-round resort. Tucked amid the Chugach Mountains, Alyeska Ski Resort offers world-class skiing and snowboarding with stunning views of the Turnagain Arm. The 1,400 acres of terrain with 2,500 feet of vertical rise, is serviced by nine lifts including a 60-passenger aerial tramway, and a high-speed bubble lift. Ski-in/ski-out access available from The Hotel Alyeska which features the luxurious Spa at Alyeska, fine dining at the Seven Glaciers and Sakura Teppanyaki Restaurants, and a mountain-view indoor heated pool and whirlpool spa. For information on ski packages and rates, call Alyeska Resort at 1-800-880-3880 or visit www.alyeskaresort.com www.alyeskaresort.com .


***
Summer at Squaw
June 30 Cowboy Poetry and Western Campout at High Camp

July 2-4 Independence Day Celebration and Fireworks on July 3!

July 7 Soaring Kites & Music Festival

July 21-22 6th annual Art, Wine and Music Festival

August 12 Perseid Meteor Shower Overnight

August 18-19 Brews, Jazz and Funk Festival in the Village

www.squaw.com


***
Sun Peaks
2007-08 Winter Season Passes are on sale now! Save the most on your Season Pass by purchasing before June 22, 2007. NEW THIS YEAR we will be offering a Season Pass age category for young adults ages 16 to 18.

Season Pass Spring Buy available until June 22, 2007
Adult (19-64) $499
Senior (65+) $499
Young Adult (16-18) $429 NEW AGE CATEGORY!
Youth (13-15) $379
Child (6-12) $249
Family* $1,900


You have three options to purchase your Season Pass. The first and easiest way is to purchase at the Sun Peaks Resort online sales site. Click here ( https://tickets.sunpeaksresort.com/step2b.aspx?new=1 ) to visit the online store. Your second option is to visit our Kamloops sales location at #209 Lansdowne Village located next to London Drugs and Fields. The Kamloops sales location is open daily from 11:00am to 7:00pm during June 15 to 22, 2007. The third option is to visit Guest Services located in the Village Day Lodge. Guest Services is open from 8:30am to 5:00pm seven days a week.

Season Passholder Perks! Receive a FREE SUMMER HIKING PASS when purchasing a season pass before June 22, 2007! Bike Park and Nordic Pass upgrades are also available. Season Passholders can also take advantage of RETAIL DISCOUNTS at Sun Peaks Resort Corporation retail stores including Helly Hansen, Time to Ride, Sun Peaks Sports, and Elevation Board Shop. www.sunpeaksresort.com



***
US SNOWBOARDING NEws

U.S. Snowboarding Camps at Mt. Hood Meadows GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (May 15) - Mt. Hood Meadows rolled out the red carpet for U.S. Snowboarding as the halfpipe and snowboardcross riders scored "perfect" training conditions during a weeklong spring camp that wrapped up Sunday.
Normally only open weekends during May, Mt. Hood Meadows spun lifts midweek for U.S. Snowboarding, allowing the public to get some extra late season snow time as well. They also added an extra four feet onto their pipe walls so U.S. riders could dial in new tricks on a full 22-foot halfpipe, now the Olympic regulation size. "Meadows is proud to host our country's most talented snowboarders and to challenge them with world class features custom built for their training. We hope the time spent here will result in more podiums for our riders in upcoming seasons. We look forward to supporting the team in the future as they prepare for Whistler in 2010, said Mt. Hood Meadows Marketing and Sales Director Dave Tragethon."
U.S. athletes included double X Games champion Steve Fisher (Breckenridge, CO), who landed the first back-to-back 1080s of the camp and Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO). Young guns Matt Ladely (Steamboat Springs, CO), Dylan Bidez (Minturn, CO), Ellery Hollingsworth (Stratton Mountain, VT) and Brooke Shaw (Bantam, CT) also made the trek to Meadows. "Spring is the best time of the year to be riding because it's soft and warm, which is mentally better than throwing new tricks in the freezing cold and icy conditions," said Bleiler, who snuck in the camp between photo and film shoots.
"We've come to a consensus and the riders agree that this is one of the best training pipes we've ever had," said Halfpipe Head Coach Mike Jankowski, when caught by cell phone from the side of the pipe. "Mt. Hood Meadows did an incredible job hooking up this pipe. Jake Ingoll (who shaped the halfpipe) had super attention to detail on the pipe and both the conditions and the hospitality were absolutely perfect. It created a relaxed environment for our riders to train and that's when they really progress. "The progression has been out of control. Ellery hit back-to-back seven's, Fisher is throwing double 10's no problem, so is Ladley, and Dylan nailed a backside nine grabbed Japan," said Jankowski, while shouting to Brooke Shaw mid sentence for landing her first frontside 900. "We did some goal setting at the beginning of the camp and everyone has been checking them off - there's one more."
Also in town for the week was nearly the entire U.S. SBX squad including back-to-back World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) and two-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA) as the mountain built a full-size training course for the Team.
"We've been working on individual sections all week," said U.S. Snowboarding Head Coach Peter Foley, who pilots the SBX program. "It's hard to quantify the results like you can in the halfpipe, but there's been a lot of positives. The biggest breakthroughs have come with the "Wu-Tang" start, where the riders drop into a small halfpipe right out of the gate. We've been seeing those starts on a lot of courses lately and it was good to have a lot of time to work on that feature." The halfpipe and SBX riders are set to return to Mt. Hood in mid June for the final stop of the Chevrolet Revolution Tour and the annual U.S. Snowboarding Project Gold camp, which specially invites young riders to train with U.S. Snowboarding pros and coaches.
www.usskiteam.com



***
MT Hood Meadows
Get it while you can !
RED DAYS - LAST TWO DAYS OF OPERATION - The season will come to an end May 20. MT. HOOD EXPRESS Not Scheduled
SHOOTING STAR EXPRESS 9 AM - 4 PM May 19, 20
VISTA EXPRESS Not Scheduled
BUTTERCUP 9 AM - 4 PM May 19, 20
ROPE TOW 9 AM - 4 PM May 19, 20
CASCADE EXPRESS 9 AM - 4 PM May 19, 20
HEATHER CANYON Not Scheduled
EASY RIDER Not Scheduled
HOOD RIVER EXPRESS Not Scheduled
BLUE 9 AM - 4 PM May 19, 20
YELLOW Not Scheduled
DAISY Not Scheduled

Green Tags can be purchased at the lift ticket window for just $2 - a voluntary contribution which helps offset the greenhouse gases a car produces in a day trip to the mountain.

www.skihood.com





Whistler Blackcomb's boldest move yet. Twenty-eight sky cabins will travel 4.4 kms between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, offering unprecedented access to both mountains' expansive and unique high alpine terrain and spectacular views. The summer and winter experience at Whistler Blackcomb will be forever revolutionized.

Record Breakers
Longest unsupported span for a lift of this kind in the world at 3.024 km / 1.88 miles Highest lift of its kind above the valley floor at 415 metres / 1,361 feet (above Fitzsimmons Creek) Longest continuous lift system on the globe – Whistler Village Gondola – Peak to Peak Gondola – Solar Coaster – Wizard Express Most expensive lift ever built in North America Only gondola installation of its kind in North America. “Most of our guests choose to ski either Whistler or Blackcomb Mountain each day. The Peak to Peak Gondola will link 8,171 acres of terrain into one continuous lift system allowing skiers and riders to maximize their day by moving quickly and effortlessly across the valley to the best snow and weather in each alpine area

Speed 7.5 meters per second.
Ride Time approximately 11 min.
Frequency one cabin departs every 49 seconds
Total Distance 4.4km (straight line)
Length of Unsupported Span 3.024km (straight line between the two towers that are furthest apart)
Highest Point above the ground is 415m over Fitzsimmons Creek
Number of Cabins 28
Capacity of Cabins 24 seated, 4 standing
Capacity 2050 people per hour each way
Number of Towers 4 (2 on Blackcomb and 2 on Whistler)
Track Ropes
two stationary ropes that the cabin rides upon-each rope is 56mm in diameter. Total length of the track rope with the sag is 4600m
Haul Rope
the single rope that pulls the cars along the track ropes is 46mm in diameter. Total length of the haul rope loop with the sag is 8850m

***
Coca Cola Brings Snow Back To Georgia The last snow sport venue in Georgia was Sky Valley, in Rabun County. However owner Merrill Trust and Associates, which purchased the community in December 2004 have concentrated on making it a golf rather than ski resort.
www.stonemountainpark.com / www.skyvalley.com --
from Patrick Thorne/ www.snow365.com



To find information on a resort, event or topic, use the
"SEARCH THIS BLOG " field at the top of this page.